Lord Bach: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	The key targets have been set for the chief executive of the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency (AFPAA) for the financial year 2005–06. The targets build upon progress made by the agency since it formed on 1 April 1997 and reflect the importance of achieving joint personnel administration implementation while maintaining current outputs. Furthermore they provide customers with assurance that, in focusing on joint personnel administration and higher profile services such as pay and pensions, AFPAA will continue to give sufficient attention to the broad range of other outputs.
	To Deliver Pay
	To make 99.9 per cent of all pay payments by the due date (excluding late payments caused by events determined to be outside the control of the agency).
	To keep the monthly error rate of accuracy for the volume of payments within 0.1 per cent.
	To Deliver Pension Services
	To make 99 per cent of all pension payments (including new awards) by the due date (excluding late payments caused by events determined to be outside the control of the agency).
	To keep the monthly error rate of accuracy for the volume of payments within 0.1 per cent.
	To Support the Delivery of Joint Personnel Administration Programme
	Achieve live service to the RAF by end March 2006. Live service to the RN and Army are to follow by end August 2006 and by end December 2006 respectively.
	To transform the Agency to Deliver the Joint Personnel Administration services
	To transform the Agency to deliver joint personnel administration, to deliver 100 per cent of key critical path milestones in the agency transformation plan.
	To prepare for delivery of AFPAA services post 2009
	Develop the AFPAA contribution to the project team, establish and meet 100 per cent of milestones.
	To confirm that the broad range of AFPAA's outputs are delivered to agreed service levels
	To achieve 90 per cent of service levels selected by the customer.
	To meet approved efficiency targets for the delivery of core services.
	To reduce the unit cost by 2 per cent, which will contribute to a 12 per cent reduction over a four-year period from 2002–03 for the delivery of core pay and personnel administration.
	To deliver an efficient and effective MoD Medal Service
	To reduce the MoD Medal Office assessment backlog from 45,000 as at 1 April 2005 to 21,000 by 31 March 2006.

Lord Bach: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am pleased to be able to announce that new regulations governing the payment of financial assistance to reservists and their employers during mobilisation were laid before Parliament today and that subject to parliamentary scrutiny are due to come into effect on 14 April 2005.
	These changes represent a significant improvement in the assistance available to reservists and employers. They reaffirm our continuing commitment to the Reserve Forces and reflect the value we place on them and their contribution to the United Kingdom's defence commitments.
	These regulations have been prepared following a comprehensive consultation process, which I announced on 22 July 2004 (Official Report, col. 62 WS). They replace the previous complex and intrusive scheme which only matched individuals' earnings up to a rank-related threshold or band, with a separate hardship award scheme for those whose earnings exceeded the band for their rank. Payments to employers under that scheme were limited and complex.
	The full detail of the scheme of both reservists and employers are available in the documents laid before the House. I also purpose that the financial limit shall be subject to annual review commencing in April 2006.